Coheed And Cambria - The Color Before The Sun
 

A concept album that's a concept of a concept album?

I ask that question in a rhetorical sense, as The Color Before The Sun is for all intensive purposes, supposed to be the bands first non-concept album, and also a complete departure from the stories surrounding the Amory Wars, which has been the subject matter of every album up until this one.

I was at work this past night when I gave the record its first spin. A little fact for the readers to know would be that once upon a time, I loathed Coheed And Cambria, just could not stand the band even for half a song. It was not until I heard Welcome Home that I began to pay more attention to the band, as they clearly had more to them than I gave them credit for initially, as Welcome Home is a superb song and shows just how well Claudio knows the guitar.

Each album leading up to The Color Before The Sun followed a distinct sound, which I'd say was a pop/rock/prog fusion. Going in to The Color Before The Sun, I was not sure what to expect, other than of course maybe getting more of the same from the band. This is indeed Coheed And Cambria, you know them when you hear them. But this album adds a bit of something new to the band and their well honed sound. The first thing I noticed is how hungry the album sounded when Island took off, and you also notice that Claudio for the first time is writing from a truly personal space. Island is a tight and satisfying introduction with plenty to offer the listener. Next up is Eraser, which opens with crunchy guitar and drums before Claudio starts in, he sounds almost cynical here. Eraser is a nice paced rocker with some nice instrumentation, good work from the band here.

Third song in, is the masterfully done Colors. The song begins with muted arpeggios on guitar, which for me is ear candy because I've always loved that sound in a song. Colors is also the first song that really reached out and grabbed my attention, and had me wanting to applaud the band for writing such a beautiful, and soaring epic. Definitely a stand out track in a big way.

Following after Colors is Here To Mars, which is a love song Claudio wrote for his wife. It's a lovely sentiment and testament to love in general, and it had me thinking of my own love in my life. If you're looking for a sweeping ballad to play for the love interest in your life, this one would do you nicely.

Next is what serves as an interlude, titled Ghost. It's a mostly acoustic song with some alienated sounding lyrics. It does well to set the mood for the song that follows.

Atlas. This song rocks hard, but it's also got a nice sentiment to it. Claudio had is newborn son in mind when he wrote Atlas. It's interesting that a song like this would turn out to be one of the more technically heavy tracks on the record, but it's a great track that does the job its meant to; put a smile on your face and giving you a reason to pump your fist.

Next is Young Love. This is a bit of an ambient sounding song. Still not entirely sure what to think of it, but it's a nice track.

You Got Spirit, Kid. This song here will be familiar territory for long time Coheed fans. It's almost a playful sounding song, but it's also somewhat an anthem too. It's sure to be a crowd favorite with that energy fans would expect from the band.

Next up would be my personal favorite track from the album, titled The Audience. The track opens with crunchy guitars, before opening up to thunderous drums and Claudio's unmistakable voice. I honestly got a bit of a Tool vibe when I listened to the track, but that's a good thing in my book. I've read online that this song could be the most important song the band has written to date. Not entirely sure why, but I do think that it is definitely one of the bands gems. It's a heavy song, and I really love it.

Closing the album is the acoustically driven Peace To The Mountain. This track was one I went back to a few times, I thought it was a rather nice sending off to a great record. I've come to realize just how much this band has grown during their career. And I really appreciate them. Peace To The Mountain for me, among many of their tracks, is proof that the band knows how to write great music.

In closing, I'd like to say why I feel that this is a concept album of a concept album. The band began in that territory of making concept records, so that in turn would be the type of record, and sound people would know them by. The sudden departure from that formula that the band had followed for so long to me would be a concept in itself for the band to accomplish. It's not a concept album, but it is at the same time. Agree with me or not. I know what I mean.

This is an album that long time Coheed And Cambria fans will rally behind, it will bring in new fans for the band too, but it may also alienate some fans the band has had since their inception. If you like prog rock with that pop/punk energy. I recommend picking this one up.

CN gives The Color Before The Sun a 8.7 out of 10.

Stand out tracks:

Colors
Atlas
The Audience
Peace To The Mountain

Glad to see a Coheed and Cambria review, even a mention, on MB. When I become more a part of the community and am able to have a journal I want to review the entire discography. I have just had this album on constant rotation since its release.

Its funny to say that it is there first non-concept album in all their interviews and press releases and then it ends up still being a concept record about Claudio's recent life events.

They are a bit of an underrated band in my opinion. They're due more credit than given honestly. This new album alone I feel is a big win for the band. It rates high for me.

They certainly get a decent amount of praise for their recent efforts in the major news outlets. But when it comes to smaller music communities such as MB, they certainly do not get a lot of mention.

That'd be an interesting read. I'll check it out when it's up.

Band is really underrated .. although I like all their previous albums too... This little distracting from the previous series of course

I still can't believe how much I love this album, actually. I've been a huge fan since In Keeping Secrets, and while I've never been disappointed with an album, I just wasn't sure what to expect. When they released the single, You Got Spirit, Kid, I liked it, but was still a little miffed at the idea of such a poppy turn for the band.

But it truly paid off, and I feel that this is probably one of the strongest records they put out. Without the burden of the story, Claudio's lyrics shine in a truly vulnerable way, and the stripped down style the band explores really allows that to be the focus. This is an emotional album, and I'd rank it right up there with the rest of their discography.

Great review. Will check out the album.

I will super agree the guitarists are highly overlooked as far as talent goes and with their live performancs.